Ignoring my newfound pain, I lifted my right arm and brought the metal bar crashing down onto her head.

Hostile eliminated.

“Got it, S.”

So much for not killing anyone. Damn, though. I wasn’t quite sure what hurt more, my lower body, my nose, or the fact that the damage had been inflicted by someone whose life I’d just tried to save.

Well, back to my corner of safety.

I didn’t get much time to think about what I’d just done, though - just a few moments later, everyone in the room, including me, suddenly collapsed to the ground. Somehow, they’d deprived us control of our own bodies.

Right after, the mocking voice sounded again. “Rejoice, for if you are hearing my voice, then you have survived the culling. I probably won’t be seeing you again, so take care!.”

I wasn’t quite sure what happened after that, as I immediately blacked out. When I came to, though, I saw the bottom of a mattress less than two feet above my eyes.

I turned my head and looked around the room. Sure enough, there were nine other bunk beds in the room. With the one I was sleeping in, that made ten.

Good morning, Jim.

“...Morning, S. Do you know what’s going on here?”

Project briefing is scheduled for thirty minutes from now. I would advise that you get dressed and prepare before then.

“Get dressed…?”

Your clothes are in the cabinet next to your bunk.

I slowly sat up and looked. Sure enough, there was a small cabinet. Opening it, I saw inside a full military uniform.

I looked down at my own, nude body. It wasn’t a good look. I reluctantly donned the military clothes, then sat back down on my bed, waiting for something to happen.

As time passed, a few more in the room woke up and clothed themselves as well. After thirty minutes, though, the ones who were still in a blissful dreamland were woken by a horrendously loud siren destroying their eardrums with its screeches.

At the same time, S notified me of my next task at hand.

Mission: Escape the room before it floods. The first to succeed will be rewarded.

…

I really didn’t like being led around the nose without knowing what was going on, but I still complied. After all, I didn’t want to drown. I wasn’t exactly an Olympic swimmer.

The others in the room had clearly been given the same mission, as half of them rushed toward the door. But, how could it be so simple? The door, despite their best efforts, stayed shut, probably locked or barred on the other side. 

Forget the rest of the people - it was time to find a way out of the room, my way. I took a step forward, and... slipped on the watery floor.

Grumbling, I picked myself up. 

If the mission was to find a way out of the room, then there had to be some other exit. In order of likeliness, the walls, the roof, and the floor.

I moved about the room, slapping the walls with my palm in an effort to find a thinner patch of wall, hopefully with an exit behind it.

No luck.

Next, I hopped from top bunk to top bunk, slapping the ceiling in a similar effort. 

No luck there either.

So then, the floor.

This would be harder - water had already risen to waist level, so it was hard for me to stomp on the ground to probe for weak spots.

By now, most had given up on the door, and were, like me, probing around the ground. Still though, no luck.

Where the hell could the exit be???

I retraced my steps. Where hadn’t I checked yet?

Shit! Of course!

When I’d woken up, I’d noticed that the bunk beds had headboards between the first and second bunk. As I’d slept in a bunk bed in my freshman year of college, I was all too knowledgeable that bunk beds were usually built to save as much money as possible, so headboards were generally not included.

I waded through the water, now chest-high to my bunkbed and kicked the headboard as hard as I could, despite the water dragging my motions.

It didn’t budge, so I punched it a few more times. Lo-and-behold, there was a tunnel behind it, just tall enough for me to be able to crouch-run in it. It was dimly lit too, wonderfully enough.

As I moved into the tunnel, the wall behind me closed off. It seemed that each tunnel could only be used by one person.

Hopefully the others in the room had seen what I’d done. I didn’t know any of them, but… you know. Human life and all.

After running through the tunnel for about a minute, I exited out the other end and found myself in a giant room, perhaps a hundred feet tall, and about a thousand feet long, and five hundred feet wide.

Two soldiers had apparently been standing on either side of my tunnel entrance, and before I could even turn to see them, I felt a gun’s muzzle stabbing into my back.

Mission completed. Well done, Jim.

“Thanks, S. Any idea what’s going on?”

You’ll be told in due time.

“What happened to you, S.”

I was upgraded, as well as given some changes in my directive. My directive is no longer to support you in your everyday life, but to ensure you are given the resources and assistance needed to fulfill your mission.

“...Great.”

One of the soldiers behind me shouted. “Move!”

“Alright, alright.”

As I walked, I noticed that I was passing several training fields, similar to what I’d seen in movies or TV shows before.

There were firing ranges, an agility course, even a field with turf laid in, and some closed-off sections that left me wondering what other hellish surprises this place held.

Near the center of the room, I saw a lone person dressed in the uniform of a military officer.

“Well done, maggot. You’re the first to make it here.”

“...”

“That’s a ‘Thank you, sir’ to you.”

“Ouch!” One of the soldiers had hit me over the head with the butt of their gun.

“...Thank you, sir.”

“Good job, maggot. Now stand in your spot.” He motioned toward an area before him, where the number “1” had been written on the ground.

“...Yes, sir.”